Dana O’Neill of ESPN.com has written a piece on Kentucky’s returning point guard Tyler Ulis and how important he is to the Wildcats chances of winning a national championship.
Even more important than the incoming freshman.
And perhaps for the first time in Calipari’s tenure at Lexington, the returnees might just be more critical than the freshmen. Seven players said their goodbyes to Big Blue Nation at the end of last season, meaning that essentially Calipari would be starting from scratch again.
Now more than ever he needs a veteran to lead, which makes point guard Tyler Ulis the most critical player in a Kentucky uniform, maybe the most critical returning player in the nation.
Alex Poythress, who re-enters post-ACL injury, may be the elder statesman on the team, but Ulis will have the ball in his hands.
The ratio of great point guard to Calipari success is proven — Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evans, John Wall, Marquis Teague. Ulis easily could be the next one. Though he never started a game, Ulis finished many of them, proving to be Kentucky’s surest bet at the point. By season’s end, he was the de facto starter, averaging 27 minutes in the postseason.
He averaged 5.6 points and 3.6 assists during the season, but you can’t quantify a player’s mastery of the game or his defense. Ulis has both, a guard who can play at a frenetic pace yet be a sure-handed picture of calm on the court.
But being the relief point guard is like being the backup quarterback — sometimes, no one seems more appealing than the guy on the bench.
This season, Ulis won’t have that luxury. There is no Andrew Harrison to absorb the venom when things don’t go well.
You can read the entire article by clicking here.
Do you expect a big year from Tyler Ulis?
Even though he might be the smallest guy in the court most of the time, he controls the entire game and can get all of his teammates involved.
I like the chances of winning a lot of games with Tyler Ulis running the Kentucky Wildcats.
